John August

Story and Plot

Villains

Episode - 75

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Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Television, Transcribed

John and Craig give heroes the week off and talk bad guys. Not every movie needs a villain, but if you have one, he better be good.

Also this week, follow-up on Courier Prime, John’s TV pilot, and most importantly Craig’s movie Identity Thief, which hits theaters this weekend.

In our One Cool Things, John talks up Gillian Flynn’s terrific but tough-to-adapt Gone Girl, while Craig wants fewer dead athletes.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 2-9-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

The hyenas got a raw deal

Story and Plot

Cezary Jan Strusiewicz makes some good points about villains who are actually right, including [The Lion King’s hyenas](http://www.cracked.com/article_18417_9-famous-movie-villains-who-were-right-all-along.html):

> They want something to eat. That’s their problem, and it’s only a problem because Mufasa banished them from the Pride Land and forced them to live in an elephant graveyard, which is no place to raise a child, hyena or otherwise. We never know why they were banished to the Pride Slums, leaving us to assume Mufasa’s unedited explaination of the Circle of Life went something like this:

MUFASA

Everything you see exists together, in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures-- from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.

SIMBA

But Dad, don’t we eat the antelope?

MUFASA

Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become grass. And the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life.

SIMBA

Wow... Say, Dad, where do the hyenas fit into the great Circle of Life?

MUFASA

Ugh, the hyenas. No, f#@k those guys.

SIMBA

Yeah, that’s fair.

That said, I’ve seen hyenas in the wild, and they freak the bejeezus out of me. At first glance, you think “dog.” Then they start to move and nope, not dog.

Not. At. All.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

Craig and John spend the entire episode discussing and dissecting RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, looking at both its structure and scene work.

This amazing and iconic 1981 film established so much of what we expect of out movie heroes and set pieces — but a lot of what it does would have a hard time getting through modern studio development. Five-minute exposition scenes! Nazi monkeys! Helpless heroes at the climax!

And yet it works so well. There are great lessons to be learned for screenwriters in every genre.

LINKS:

* Raiders of the Lost Ark [official website](http://www.indianajones.com/), and on [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082971/?ref_=sr_1), [Netflix](http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Indiana-Jones-and-the-Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark/60011649?strkid=1024294360_0_0&strackid=28d787371bc40f39_0_srl&trkid=222336), [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie-collection/indiana-jones-complete-adventures/id561542568) and [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014Z4OMU/?tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Larry Kasdan’s [Raiders story conference transcripts](http://moedred.livejournal.com/2009/03/04/)
* [“Apple for teacher? Why’d he do that?”](http://raven.theraider.net/showthread.php?t=6083) thread on theraider.net (via [@sethgs](https://twitter.com/sethgs/status/292779295905021952))
* OUTRO: [A British Tar](http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/britisht.htm) from the HMS Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan, performed by John Rhys-Davies

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_73.m4a).

**UPDATE** 1-25-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-73-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-transcript).

Plot holes, and the myth of perseveraversity

QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

John and Craig discuss Frankenweenie and Superhero! before cracking open the mailbox to answer listener questions: What advice would they give to their younger selves? Is a spec with a similar high-concept premise doomed? Should Australian screenwriters use U.S. spelling conventions?

Then, a discussion of what constitutes a plot hole and to what degree screenwriters are to blame.

After that, two new Three Page Challenge entries. We’ve received more than 500 of these, which is crazy.

All this and what to name an Amanda Peet character in this week’s Scriptnotes. Next week, join us for the the first-ever Scriptnotes Live podcast from the Austin Film Festival.

LINKS:

* John’s [Frankenweenie thoughts](http://johnaugust.com/2012/some-first-thoughts-on-fifth)
* Craig’s [Superhero!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero_Movie) movie
* [Movie Plot Holes](http://www.movieplotholes.com)
* John on [the perils of coincidence](http://johnaugust.com/2007/perils-of-coincidence)
* Three pages by [Greg from Liechtenstein](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/greg_l.pdf)
* Three pages by [Vance Kotrla](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/vance_kotrla.pdf)
* [Kindle Paperwhite](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007OZNZG0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007OZNZG0&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* [Nogales, Arizona](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogales,_Arizona) on Wikipedia
* INTRO: [PBS Intro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCuqlLq1k7o)
* OUTRO: [There is No Arizona](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUSN3_3vhYs) covered by Mishavonna

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_59.m4a).

**UPDATE** 10-19-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-59-plot-holes-and-the-myth-of-perseveraversity-transcript).